40 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday October 17, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com Blades play some wild West hockey Reloaded Irish maintains The Oakville Blades' team goals-against average took a major hit last weekend, but their positioning in the standings did not. Oakville, which entered weekend play as the top defensive team in the Provincial Junior A Hockey League's West Conference, allowed a total of 11 goals in games against the Mississasuga Chargers and Georgetown Raiders. The Blades, however, scored 13 goals of their own during those games, salvaging three of a possible four points. Oakville (7-3-2) sits third in the division standings, five points back of the first-place Hamilton Red Wings. Friday at Joshua Creek Arenas, the Blades outscored Mississauga 40 in the opening period and cruised to an 8-5 triumph. Trevor Eckenswiller, Luke Moodie, Nick McParland, Kellan Lain, Domenic Monardo, Julian Cimadamore, Sean Teakle and Kyle Badham scored goals for Oakville, while Luc Boissinneault and Chris Haltigin had a pair of helpers each. Scott Greenham allowed three goals on 37 shots to earn the victory, sharing time in net with Kevin Campbell. The following night in Georgetown, the Blades built a 5-2 third-period lead before the Raiders stormed back to tie the game and eventually win, 6-5, in a shootout. Eckenswiller, McParland, Lain, Monardo and Cimadamore again found the net for Oakville, and Moodie had two assists. Greenham made 27 saves in the loss. The Blades are currently preparing to face two of the top two teams in the West. The Milton IceHawks, owners of a 7-2-2 mark, will visit Joshua Creek Arenas Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. start. Monday, Oakville will travel to Hamilton for a 7:30 p.m. date with the 10-3-1 Red Wings. -- Jon Kuiperij upper hand in senior hoops Continued from page 39 UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO IS COSTING. Anton T Vice Pre Partners anton@tr Web site: I am constantly surprised believe their mutual fund simply not the case and it A May, 2006 unpublished Fund Fees Around the W single highest fee countr 46,799 mutual funds in of the global fund indust astonishing is that most i their portfolios. The simple truth is that all mutual funds carry fees and that it severely affects investment performance. These fees include MER's (management expense ratio), which is an annual fee that's charged to a mutual fund to pay for management, advisor sales commissions, legal fees, marketing expenses and so on. These fees average about 2.53% for equity funds, but often exceed 3%. Not much you say, but consider that this represents a whopping 30% of the average gain you're likely to receive in any year. MER's combined with other fees to cover trading costs (yes you pay for this) and taxes on distributions (not just when you decide to sell, but each year interest or dividends are paid) may erode returns by as much as 5% a year. This is 50% of the average return provided by the equity market, which hardly seems like a good investment. We think not. Jonathan Chevreau, related a story in the financial Post last year: `An advisor recently told me of a multimillion dollar portfolio he took over. The previous "advisor" put this client into 80 different funds, all of them high-MER funds sold with a DSC (deferred sales charge). The investor paid more than $50,000 a year in fees and didn't even realize it until the new advisor wised him up. After all, with "embedded compensation," the fund companies never actually send a bill!' At TriDelta Financial Partners we strongly advise clients against mutual funds primarily because of the excessive costs, but also other investor pitfalls. These day's investors have access to excellent alternative solutions at a fraction of the cost. We, for example deliver solutions at a cost often less than half that of mutual funds. TriDelta Financial Partners offers holistic financial planning advice. We take the time to craft unique solutions that are appropriate to your particular situation, this stems from our belief that the best solutions can only be found through consideration of your entire financial picture and not viewing investments, insurance or estate planning in isolation. opening quarter, the duo pulled down five straight rebounds before getting a shot to drop. Amanda Swinhoe gives the Titans another inside presence, while Perrotta, Paula Simas and Grade 9 student Selena Singh provided the stellar defence that kept the league's secondbest offensive team to less than half its average point total for the season. "The defence was superb today," said Trinity coach John Beraldo. "We knew they were a good shooting team, so we got in their face." ND strong despite no Selfe help The Notre Dame senior squad has overcome the loss of Jacklyn Selfe, not just one of the best players in Halton, but the country. The Grade 12 guard led Ontario to a national juvenile title in August but is enrolled in the Canada Basketball National Elite Development Academy. "It's really a testament to the rest of the girls for them to come back and be even better," Johnston said. The void has been filled by an unlikely source -- a pair of Grade 10 starters. Like Selfe, Missy Mullins helped Ontario win a national championship this summer. She was the provincial team's leading scorer in two of its six wins on its way to the Canadian midget title. Mullins and Jamie Ruttle were also teammates on the Burlington Panthers rep squad that went 40-0 on its way to the Ontario championship. Ruttle scored 35 points in the Panthers' provincial championship game. It was Ruttle, who had a game-high 11 points, that sparked Notre Dame's 140 run in the second half, turning an 1815 Irish deficit into a lead it would not surrender. At 6-foot-2, Ruttle dominated the boards, but it may well have been a pair of three-pointers by Missy and Marie Mullins in the final minute of the third quarter that really sunk the Titan ship. "With their size down low, they're really tough to defend," said Trinity coach Andrew Saulez. "They showed us a lot of different looks. We gave them the outside and Time for a New Outfit! Peace of Mind ... ... the most Valuable Service we Provide I get mine, and the broom too, at you have to give them credit, they made their shots." Although the Irish has just one graduating player, Kat Owens, Trinity is also well-stocked for the future. Three of its five starters -- Lauren Morris, Katie Sinopoli and Doreen Bonsu -- were members of the Titans' Halton champion junior team last season. Bonsu's eight points were second to Titans veteran Alena Luciani, who had nine. Despite the fact that the Titans scored only one basket in the first 13 minutes of the second half, a nice fallaway jumper by Bonsu and a couple of quick scores by Luciani had Trinity within six points with three minutes to play. "I thought our (defence) kept us in at the times where we couldn't score," Saulez said. "We wanted to make it as tough to score as we could." The strategy made for a surprisingly low-scoring contest, considering the game featured two of the league's best offences. "I think we're both more comfortable playing a higher tempo, but they determined we were going to play the game that way," Johnston said. "They were well prepared, so we just tried to be patient and execute our plays." Still, both teams were more than 14 points under their average points for the season and produced a lower score than the junior game. The rise of the Titans' juniors should only enhance the rivalry down the road. It will be enhanced now that the teams have the opportunity to meet in the regular season, something that was missing for years when the league was divided into geographical divisions. "The league is so much stronger now," Johnston said. "And with a stronger league, what we're doing is better preparing our Halton champion to compete at the (Golden Horseshoe) and provincial level. "Whoever comes out of Halton is going to be a force." And, for the next several years, it should continue to be a treat to find out who that is. OT, White Oaks home favourites in field hockey playoff contests Both the Holy Trinity Titans and St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders have tall tasks ahead of them as the Halton high school senior girls' field hockey playoffs continue today. Trinity visits the Oakville Trafalgar Red Devils and Aquinas travels to White Oaks to play the Wildcats in two of four Halton quarter-final contests slated for this afternoon. OT finished first in Volpe Division regular-season play with a 7-0-2 record, while the Wildcats were a point back at 7-1-1. The other two quarter-final matchups do not involve Oakville schools. Aquinas blanked the Loyola Hawks 1-0 and Holy Trinity edged the Iroquois Ridge Trailblazers 2-1 in the opening round of the playoffs Monday. OT and White Oaks enjoyed byes in the opening round. Winners today will advance to Friday's semifinal round, where Volpe and Richardson Division teams will cross over. The Halton final is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 22, with the Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference title match slated for Thursday, Oct. 25. Junior girls' field hockey playoffs will start next week. Anton Tucker CFP, FMA, FCSI 905.901.3429 anton@tridelta.ca www.tridelta.ca OAKVILLE NORTH YORK MISSISSAUGA THORNHILL Tim Trian, CFA - Portfolio Manager Laura Trian, CA, CFP CIM - Associate Portfolio Manager , Vi i h // i d d lh Adult & Children's Costumes Full line of high quality accessories Marcucci Costume Studios 905.878.1504 200-2908 South Sheridan Way, Oakville 885 Main St. E Milton Tel: 905-829-0600 Corner of Main St. & Thompson Rd. www.MarcucciStudios.com